26 12-35 You Can't Stop It, You Can Only Hope To Contain It
liberty bible church 6/22/08 P.M.
By Tom Zobrist
“You Can’t Stop It, You Can Only HOpe To COntain It”
The Fulfillment of God’s Will
Genesis 26:12-35
introduction
Illus. of We have all watched in horror the recent floods in the Midwest and have been extremely thankful that we have been spared this trial. Sandbags are the front-line of defense against floods. They filled millions in the Midwest trying to hold back the water. One engineer they interviewed said that sandbags won’t stop the water, they will only slow it down, with the hopes that it will crest and recede before it breeches the wall altogether. In some places they were more successful than others, but in the end, the realization comes that you just can’t stop it.
The same is true with the will of God. The world and even many Christians try to stop it, but it can’t be done. In the end, God’s purposes will be accomplished. As believers, we should find great comfort in this because we will be the ones on the frontline of the enemy’s attacks and it is us who will be “sandbagging” if you will the floodwaters of adversity. But in the end, it is God’s will that cannot be stopped. We see that in our passage tonight and we see how God gives the victory in the face of opposition. When it comes to God’s will, the enemy can’t stop it, he can only hope to contain it. How should that affect us today?
OPEN to passage.
Prop. In this passage, we see why we can be confident in God’s will.
Open in PRAYER.
PREVIEW the passage. It’s been two months since we last were here. We have been looking at Isaac and Jacob. The last time we saw Isaac fall into the sin of his father by lying about his wife, saying that she was his sister. Today we see more problems with the people of the land and how God deals with it. We get confidence from this section realizing that what God has purposed cannot be stopped, yet the enemy still tries to contain it. First, when it comes to fulfilling God’s will, we need to realize that…
i. the enemy will attack vs. 12-22
Illus. of I served in the military during the Cold War. Never was a shot fired, but we were ready to obliterate the enemy should they attack us. I.e. alert. In our spiritual battles that we struggle through, it’s not just possible that the enemy will attack, they do, every single day. Isaac faces attacks here…in subtle ways.
a. why does he attack?
V 12 1. Isaac is blessed by God. He has a bumper crop. And the people of the land see this. Satan’s greatest enemy is God, When we are on His side and reaping His blessings, the enemy will surely oppose this.
V 13- 2. Isaac continues to be blessed in every venture and he becomes very wealthy and with wealth comes power.
14 And with power comes concern by those that have it. They become jealous and that is what happened with Isaac’s enemies here. They become envious.
b. They want to eliminate him.
V 15 1. Why are wells so important? Illus. of what do we look for on Mars? Water. Water is the source of life. In this culture, wells were a sign of divine blessing.
V 16 2. The enemy wanted them gone. Isaac with all his goods and servants were a threat to those in power. He was a welcome guest if he was a weak Bedouin. He was too powerful now. He needs to leave.
c. enemies, enemies, everywhere
Illus. of all that went wrong when we moved to KC. We thought we were in God’s will. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed at when you think you are in God’s will and you are still attacked.
V 17- 1. Isaac moves to a new region and God continues bless him with what he needs for his great numbers of servants
19 and flocks and herds…water. More opposition comes.
V 20- 2. The people from Gerar also dispute with Isaac over these new wells, claiming that the water there belonged to
21 them. Both of these names reflect the conflict. Illus. of similar to the battles in Israel today. Other people groups claim the land.
V 22 3. Isaac never fought back, He trusted God and God finally made room, as the name reflects. He was still confident that they would be fruitful in the land. God would continue to allow them to prosper.
Trans. When it comes to fulfilling God’s will, we need to realize that THE ENEMY WILL ATTACK. Second, when we feel that there is nowhere to turn, it is then that…
ii. the lord will affirm vs. 23-25
Illus. of couples who restate their marriage vows on a major anniversary or after a trial of some sort. They want to affirm their love. It is a reminder to their spouse that they are still committed after all that time or after a trial. Isaac here has the Abrahamic covenant affirmed to him after several trials within the land. First…
a. GOd affirms His promises
V 23 1. Isaac at some point moves to Beersheba. Abraham too had lived here.
V 24 2. God reaffirms His covenant promises to Abraham and these same blessings would be passed on though Isaac. There was no reason he should fear in the face of the enemy. He would need this affirmation with the meeting that he would soon have. After this encounter with God…
b. Isaac responds in Worship
V 25a 1. Like his father before, Isaac responds to this promise with worship. He proclaimed the name of Yahweh as God.
V 25b 2. Then he settles in and once again are blessed with water.
Trans. When it comes to fulfilling God’s will, we need to realize that THE ENEMY WILL ATTACK, but just when we feel that there is nowhere to turn, THE LORD WILL AFFIRM all His promises. Finally, at some point…
iii. the enemy will abate vs. 26-35
Illus. of when we were in KC, life eventually normalized. The enemy’s attacks lessened. We still had trials from time to time, but never like it seemed that first week. We just had to endure through it, and God affirmed His promises through His Word and His people. Here, the enemy abates in the face of Isaac’s continued blessings.
A. Can’t we all get along
Illus. of that’s what the enemy says when they know they are beaten. Here Isaac is approached by those that removed him from the land.
V 26 1. This may have been a different Abimelech and Phicol from chapter 21. These may have been names like Pharaoh or Centurian. Cf. Gen. 21:22-34 A similar incident happens with Abraham.
V 27 2. Isaac wonders why they are back. He had left. Why now do they want to talk?
V 28- 3. They have observed all that has taken place and they want to make peace. They are recognizing Isaac’s God
29 and don’t want to be on t he wrong side.
V 30-314. So Isaac accepts their overtures and makes peace with them.
b. God continues to bless Isaac
V 32 1. God’s blessing was indeed on the seed of Abraham and Isaac was the rightful heir. No matter how much opposition, the enemy could not thwart it. God’s will, nor His blessing could be stopped, but the enemy did hope to contain it. They did this by seeking peace. They hoped to reap some of Isaac’s blessings.
V 33 2. Sheba, once again means oath or seven. Beersheba means well of the seven or well of the oath. So, Isaac finally has peace, until…
c. more trials
V 34 1. Isaac marries…two women, both Hittites and neither was good. We know they were not to marry women of the land. Isaac didn’t and neither did Jacob. Esau, evidently rebelled against God and his father.
V 35 2. One of those painful in-law situations. Here, Esau demonstrates why he was unfit he was for God’s blessing. Some say it was foolish for Isaac to try and bless him later. (next chapter) He later married a third wife in chapter 28.
conclusion
When it comes to fulfilling God’s will, we need to realize that THE ENEMY WILL ATTACK, but just when we feel that there is nowhere to turn, THE LORD WILL AFFIRM all His promises. Finally, at some point, THE ENEMY WILL ABATE. We will still have trials, but not always at the same intensity. How does this affect us today?
1. Some of you sense the attack of the enemy today. You are overcome with sin, or discouragement, or financial pressures, or health needs, or job pressures, or the economy, or the war, or the uncertainty of the days ahead. You are afraid. The enemy is overwhelming. If you fight God’s will and rebel, you will be miserable. I.e. Esau and Isaac and Rebekah.
2. The same place Isaac went. He went to God and was blessed with the water of life. Jesus has the water of life. Drink from His well and you will never thirst. GOSPEL But, I’m saved and still I struggle.
3. Then you need to be affirmed. Today we are affirmed through the Word and fellowship with the saints. The enemy wants us isolated. We are more easily overcome. We need one another, we need our prayers, our support, our accountability, our love.
Illus. of Michael Jordan. Other teams strategy would be to let him get his points and stop the rest of the team.
The devil knows that He can’t thwart the work of Jesus, but He can hinder it by making the rest of the team struggle. That’s where we step in and do what our roll is. We accomplish what God has given us through our Spiritual gifts. We can’t be stopped. We can’t even be contained, if we allow God to work through us.
pray
liberty bible church 6/22/08 P.M.
By Tom Zobrist
“You Can’t Stop It, You Can Only HOpe To COntain It”
The Fulfillment of God’s Will
Genesis 26:12-35
introduction
The world and even many Christians try to stop God’s will, but it can’t be done. God’s purposes will be accomplished. We see that in our passage tonight and we see how God gives the victory in the face of opposition.
i. the enemy will vs. 12-22
a. why?
b. They want to _____________________________________ him.
c. ________________________, ___________________________, everywhere
ii. the lord will vs. 23-25
a. GOd affirms His _______________________________
b. Isaac responds in ___________________________
iii. the enemy will vs. 26-35
A. Can’t we all get along?
Cf. Gen. 21:22-34
b. God continues to _______________________________ Isaac
c. more trials
conclusion
How does this affect us today?
1.
2.
3.